Managing Wet Weather with

Green Infrastructure
a periodic update on activities
Volume 2008, Issue 2 March 2008

On January 30, 2008 the New York City Council amended the adminis- Contacts
trative code to tackle the sewage overflow problem in the City’s over-
EPA Headquarters
burdened sewer system, and on February 19, 2008 Mayor Bloomburg Jenny Molloy, OW/OWM
signed it into law. The legislation advances the implementation of Robert Goo, OW/OWOW
green infrastructure elements in the City’s existing streets, parks, and Gary Hudiburgh, OECA
other public spaces and into existing and new development pro-
jects. By adopting green infrastructure solutions, such as green roofs, EPA Regions
Jackie LeClair, R1
permeable pavement, wetland restoration, and smarter design of
Stephen Venezia, R2
street tree plantings, stormwater can be captured where it falls and Dominique Leuckenhoff, R3
used to green the city, instead of overwhelming sewers and flushing Jim Giattina, R4
raw sewage directly into City waterways. The legislation, City Council Joan Karnauskas, R5
Intro No. 630, ensures that New York City will follow through with the Brent Larsen, R6
initiatives outlined in Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030, by requiring the Pradip Dalal, R7
development of a city-wide Sustainable Stormwater Management Plan Elaine Lai, R8
focusing on such measures. For more information on the water quality John Tinger, R9
components of PlaNYC 2030, see http://www.nyc.gov/html/ Krista Mendelman, R10
planyc2030/html/plan/water_quality.shtml
Steering Committee
Partners
Nancy Stoner, NRDC
Kansas City, Missouri has passed an administrative regulation to imple- Nathan Gardner-Andrews,
ment the City‘s Green Solutions Policy Resolution. The administrative NACWA
regulation went into effect Feb. 25, 2008 and directs City departments Chris Kloss & Neil
to incorporate green solutions into City policies, projects and pro- Weinstein, LID Center
Katherine Baer,
grams. Green solutions include green infrastructure such as rain gar-
American Rivers
dens, bio-retention facilities and stream buffers, which reduce storm Linda Eichmiller, ASIWPCA
water runoff and water pollution, create recreational amenities and
protect natural resources. Green solutions also include renewable en-
ergy, solid waste recycling, mass transit, bike/pedestrian infrastructure
and other measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve
environmental quality. The policy also provides for the creation of a
Green Team Committee, which will direct the City's green solutions ef-
forts, approve modification of internal business processes necessary to
implement green solutions throughout the City and provide direction on Cistern at Chicago Center
innovative ways to add green solutions to City projects. for Green Technology

For more information on managing wet weather with green infrastructure see the website at:
www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure. To be added to an e-mail distribution list for future is-
sues of this bulletin and other notices, send an e-mail request to molloy.jennifer@epa.gov.
Volume 2008, Issue 2
On February 27, 2008 the U.S. House Science and
Technology Committee approved legislation that
would fund new research into ways to reduce
transportation-related runoff. H.R. 5161, from
Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Chair-
man David Wu (D-Ore.), would fund transporta-
tion research centers within at least 10 universi-
ties to study "green transportation infrastruc-
ture." This would include new technology, con-
struction techniques and integration of green
elements into existing transportation and waste
management systems. The bill also instructs the
Federal Highway Administration's National High-
way Institute to work with other agencies to de-
sign a curriculum for builders and contractors
that includes green transportation infrastructure.
A corresponding measure has not been intro-
duced in the Senate.
In Lexington, Kentucky the Bluegrass Rain Garden
Alliance has announced an initiative called "2010
Rain Gardens by 2010". The initiative was
launched on February 25, 2008 at a meeting that
drew representatives of large corporations, small
business owners, landscape architects, educators
and homeowners. A web site will be set up
where individuals can register their rain garden
and post pictures of it. Everyone who registers
will get a plaque to put in their rain garden.
New Publications
A Review of Low Impact Development Policies:
Removing Institutional Barriers to Adoption. Pre-
pared by The Low Impact Development Center.
Sponsored by California State Water Resources
Control Board Stormwater Program and the Water
Board Academy. December 2007.
Jun Wang, Theodore A. Endreny, and David J.
Nowak. Mechanistic Simulation of Tree Effects in
an Urban Water Balance Model. Journal of the
American Water Resources Association, 44(1),
February 2008.
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center
2007 Annual Report. http://www.unh.edu/erg/
cstev/2007_stormwater_annual_report.pdf
March 2008
Partner Features
The USDA Forest Service's Center for Urban
Forest Research recently released their study
of the urban tree canopy of the San Francisco
Bay area, San Francisco Bay Area State of the
Urban Forest Final Report. The report: (1) de-
scribes the historic changes to the region's ur-
ban canopy cover and amount of impervious
surface, (2) quantifies the value of ecosystem
services the current forest provides, and (3)
estimates future benefits based on possible
expansion of the urban forest. http://
www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/
products/2/psw_cufr719_SFBay.pdf
The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Re-
search Station has also released a simple tree
selection tool for Los Angeles called Million
Trees LA. The tool helps private property
owners in the LA area decide which trees best
fit their locations, conditions and certain pref-
erences such as evergreen or deciduous, fall
foliage colors and edible fruit. http://
www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/
milliontrees/
Upcoming Forums & Events
Building Sustainable Communities for the 21st
Century. Southeast Watershed Forum. August
12-14, 2008. Charleston SC. Abstract Submis-
sion deadline March 14, 2008. http://
www.southeastwaterforum.org/roundtables/
default.asp
The Conservation Leadership Network has an-
nounced its spring courses for 2008. http://
www.conservationfund.org/
training_education/upcoming_training_courses
Stormwater wetland, Saylor Grove, Philadelphia